’What the hell’s going on?’ as Jurgen klopp confronted Mark Clattenburg before Liverpool played Chelsea in 1-1 draw
According to Football London, Chelsea and Liverpool have had plenty of entertaining battles over the years and now Mark Clattenburg has added more details to a previous game
Matches between Chelsea and Liverpool are always feisty affairs.
In the 2000s, the two teams played out some iconic Champions League ties and in recent years that drama has carried into the Premier League, most recently before the international break.
The Blues were able to ground out a 1-1 draw at Anfield after Reece James was controversially sent off just before half-time for handling the ball on the line.
But a bizarre moment occurred in 2017 when the teams met on Merseyside in the middle of winter. Writing for the Daily Mail, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg recalled the incident.
“My final game with Klopp was in January 2017 against Chelsea at Anfield,” he said. “Managers rarely came into my dressing room for the exchange of team-sheets an hour before kick-off.
“On this occasion, Klopp came in with Jordan Henderson. It was bizarre, he stood and stared at me for about 30 seconds. I just stared back at him. I could see Jordan was a bit like, ‘What the hell’s going on?’ Did Klopp think I was stupid?
“I was not going to be bullied by him. He left and all I thought was: ‘What a strange bloke.’”
Whatever’s Klopp’s plan for Henderson was, it did not work, as the midfielder was booked in the 1-1 draw, David Luiz scoring a rocket of a free-kick for Antonio Conte’s side on their way to the Premier League title.
Clattenburg quit the English top-flight at the end of that season, departing to join the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. Safe to say Klopp’s final impression was not a good one.
In 2019 he moved again, this time joining the Chinese Football Association.